During the summer months, BHSN will be revisiting some of our best Athletes of the Week from the 2014-2015 school season to catch up on what’s new.
Back in April, we introduced you to Domanik Stratford, a volleyball player for Bishop Moore, who had high hopes for his team. At the time, the Hornets were coming off an impressive win against Lyman, but still had a tough road ahead in their district. The then junior was a centerpiece on a senior laden Hornet team that still had to play against the likes of Dr. Phillips, Olympia and Apopka.
Fast forward a month and the Hornets not only made it out of their district, they won the whole thing – an impressive performance at the 2015 Boys Volleyball State Championships.
“I think the whole time we were saying we want to make it to states, but it was always kind of a lofty goal with Dr. Phillips in our district and teams that are really tough. So making it out of districts was huge, and we just went from there,” said Domanik. “We basically told ourselves we weren’t going to lose and we ended up winning the whole thing so it was awesome.”
Domanik was a key part of that winning team with 20 kills to his credit in the State Championship game. But Stratford wants you to know that volleyball, and sports in general, didn’t always come easy.
“I was awful in 6th grade. But I just stayed with it, because I wasn’t really good at any other sport either, so this one happened.”
Now good enough to garner college attention, Domanik is hoping to play at the next level.
“I’d love to play in college really, wherever I am given the opportunity. Division I or Division II, wherever I end up, I’d just love to play," said Domanik.
In the meantime, Domanik is still on the court, perfecting the game and reliving that perfect ending to their championship run.
“Looking back and knowing how it went down – it’s a cool feeling.”